The Grimm Tales

Grimm Tales… staged by Wigan Little Theatre Youth Theatre at Wigan Little Theatre, Compton Street, Wigan on Friday, 20th September, 2024

History of Grimms' Fairy Tales ... this is a collection of German fairy tales, written by the Brothers Grimm…Jacob and Wilhelm which were first published in December 1812. Volume one contained eighty-six tales, Volume two, published in 1815, contained a further seventy tales… by the seventh volume, published in1857, the corpus tales had now expanded to two hundred tales and ten ‘Children’s Legends’. Heavily criticised when first published ... thought unsuitable for children. In 2012 Philip Pullman, the prolific English writer, was approached by ‘Penguin Classics’ to curate fifty of the fairytales, his intention was to produce versions that were as ‘clear as water’. Philip Wilson, with more or less the same remit, adapted those same tales for the stage, seeking to retain the limpid, yet beautifully crafted characters and share them between an ensemble of performers who could play husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, princes and princesses, wise kings and wicked witches, snakes, frogs and birds.

The Production Team… Neil and Lauren Brogan-Brown, Alicia Scally and Aimee Oliver (Youth Leaders / Co-Directors) were the people challenged to bring these atmospheric classic tales to life on stage, and what a job they did!  Neil not only helped bring the tales from page to stage, he also designed the set, he and Lauren also painted it… such talented people! The set was not only amazing visually with a ‘central arch’… steps to stage right and a ‘light box’ piece of a scenery stage left. We had a set of five lights set to both stage-left and right with star shaped pieces hanging below them.  This set looked amazing, it also afforded the cast all the entry and exit points needed to allow this production to flow with ease. There was little doubt that Neil, Lauren, Alicia and Aimee had worked extremely hard with this group of talented, well-rehearsed young people, who, from the off, looked engaged and up for the challenge … congrats to you all, great job!

The Cast… Kit Lawson, Grace Bell, Niamh Richards, Mathew Welsby, Isabell Oakley, Leo Ball, Lily Kenrick, Scarlett Glanfield, Daisy Lowe, Alexandra Jones, Belle Halliwell, Macy Gladwin, Sienna Jennings, Sam Oliver, Flynn Parkinson,
Aoife Anderson, Caitlin Rodgers, Katie Lewis, Iona Armstrong, Emily Williams, Mathew Roberts, Sienna Cooper, Joshua Birmingham, Isla Glanfield, William Hare, Chloe Kewley, Flynn Parkinson, Jacob Simpson, Amelia Byrne, Macy Gladwin,
Leona Mather, Mille Appleton and Abigail Brown.  

Act 1:  opened by … Kit Lawson (The Architect/Narrator) and Niamh Richards and Grace Ball singers.
i) The Frog King … ‘King’ - Mathew Welsby; ‘Princess’ - Isabell Oakley; ‘Frog’ - Leo Ball; ‘Faithful Heinrich’ - Lily Kenrick

ii) Three Little Men in the Woods … ‘Man’ – Scarlett Glanfield; ‘Step Mother’ - Daisy Lowe; ‘Daughter’ - Alexandra Jones;  ‘Step Sister’ - Belle Halliwell; ‘King’ - Macy Gladwin;  ‘Kitchen Boy’ -  Sienna Jennings; ‘Coachman’ - Sam Oliver

iii) Thousandfurs    ‘King/Cook’ - Flynn Parkinson; ‘Thousandfurs’ - Aoife Anderson; ‘Second King’ - Caitlin Rodgers; ‘Huntsman’ - Iona Armstrong

iv) Goose Girl …     ‘Old Woman’ - Emily Williams; ‘Young Count’ - Mathew Roberts;  ‘Goose Girl’ -  Sianna Cooper; ‘Father’ - Joshua Birmingham; ‘Townsfolk’ - Isla Glanfield; ‘Little Boy/Queen’ - Scarlett Glanfield

Act 2:  
i) Hansel and Gretel …’Hansel’ - William Hare; ‘Gretel’ - Chloe Kewley; Father’ - Flynn Parkinson; ‘Step Mother’ - Grace Ball; ‘Witch’ - Iona Armstrong

ii) Faithful Johannes ...‘Faithful Johannes’ - Jacob Simpson; ‘Princess’ - Amelia Byrne; ‘Young King’ - Macy Gladwin; ‘Servant/Raven’ - Iona Armstron; ‘Old King/Raven’ - Kit Lawson; ‘Hangman/Raven’ - Leona Mather

iii) Donkey Cabbage …‘Young Hunter’ - Caitlin Rodgers; ‘Old Woman/Witch’ - Katie Lewis; ‘Hunter’s Mum/Giant’ - Millie Appleton; ‘Hunter’s Dad/Giant’ - Niamh Richards; ‘Serving Girl’ - Abigail Brown

The ensemble were on stage for the entire time, breaking off to play lead characters as shown above in the seven tales told!  So, never being one to sit on the fence, I’d like to select MY Showstealer and MY three favourite characters from the seven tales told … others present will have their favourites, but these are MINE…  MY Showstealer, had to be Kit Lawson.  Kit opened the show as ‘The Architect’ a kind of ‘narrator’ who just oozed class! Blessed with stage presence aplenty, superb diction and an ability to create a great character and dressed in the most fabulous costume, Kit just owned the stage. Loved Kit’s quote that brought Act 1 to a close … “Go, we shall gather again soon” … many left, but those, like me, who stayed saw Kit sat quietly on stage just reading a book throughout the interval. The word ‘imperious’ keeps coming to mind whenever I think of his performance!  Kit also played a dual role in ‘Faithful Johannes’ – ‘Old King and a Raven’ … be ever so proud Kit.  Loved Leo Ball’s performance as ‘The Frog’ in ‘The Frog King’.  A ‘puppeteer’ of sorts, … loved the accent, loved the mannerisms, loved the hand puppet frog (in a strange sort of way) … well done Leo, be proud. Thought Iona Armstrong did a superb job taking on roles in both ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (Witch) and in ‘Faithful Johannes’ (Servant/Raven). Another blessed with great stage presence, who brought life to both her characters. Confident, assured… be very proud Iona.  Last, certainly not least, was Emily William’s portrayal of the ‘Old Woman’ in ‘Goose Girl’. Emily looked ever so comfortable in this role which she made her own.  Another blessed with great diction and wonderful characterisation skills … looked totally at home on stage… wonderful job Emily, be proud!  Before anyone gets disappointed, let me assure you that every cast member performed really well… this really was an ensemble performance … congrats to you all!

Staging/Set/Tech … as previously stated the set and staging was superb offering everything needed for these young actors to perform at their best!   Congrats to Alicia Scally (Stage Manager) and her Set Construction Team – Brian Heap and David Grist for pulling all this together. Lights / Sound as always here at Wigan Little Theatre was first rate under the watchful eyes of Andy Brown and Mel Meadows.  Costumes and Props … were also first rate enhancing the production ever so much … in charge of these was Stacey Vernon and Elaine Delaney. Chaperones … I never miss thanking/congratulating these unsung heroes (unnamed unfortunately), without you giving up your time to ensure that young people are safe/secure, these young people would not be able to follow their passion for theatre… thank you… you know who you are, hugely appreciated!   

Constructive Advice... I’ve passed this advice onto many youth groups... not criticism, a ‘wee bit’ of advice…
‘Spoken Word’ - Never forget that the audience needs to hear everything you say!  Your diction was good... but the volume did drop at times. If you have to speak ‘upstage’ speak louder and always project
‘Spoken Word’ - It’s great knowing your lines – but saying them without ‘light and shade’ never works. Emotion/ accentuation is vital for dialogue to come alive … persuade Neil and Lauren to do a section from ‘Constellations’
‘Accents’ - accents are vital in theatre, if used ensure they are present throughout your performance. If your role involves singing ...try/keep the accent in the lyrics... isn’t easy – but if achieved will enhance your performance!
‘Eye Contact’    - Vital… they say ‘The eyes are the window to the soul’ – ‘so true’. Look into someone’s eyes, you should be able to tell what that person is thinking/feeling, if you can’t see them or hidden under a hat or the like… you lose so much!  The ‘eye’s definitely have it’ 

In summing up, as I said when we met backstage … these truly were grim tales… brought to life by YOU. They were bizarre… but you made them beautiful, you allowed us to explore the dark corners of the imagination and I thank you for that.  Also, thanks for inviting my wife and I, we thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and thanks to Anne Woolley, Neil and Lauren Brogan-Brown for allowing me to meet and speak with you the cast backstage, it truly was a privilege… hope to see you all again very soon!

Stay safe, keep well…  
‘Stronger Together’ 
Jim Briscoe
NODA NW District 6 Rep

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.